people, places and ICT

March 22, 2009

Given that there are only 24 hours in a day, I have had to stop blogging here. I am now spending all my spare time on the ColaLife Campaign and I am now blogging over on the ColaLife blog. See you there!

January 01, 2009

I have just learned that this blog has been listed by Business Week who want to identify 'the voice of innovation'. This is a great honour especially since most of my online activity hasn't taken place here.

So I thought I'd sum-up 2008 here to provide a link through to where the action really is!

Blog post of the year

17/2/08 - Calling Jack ThursdonThis post was a real-time experiment in social networking set-up to demonstrate how social networking works for the benefit of the sceptics. It worked better than I could have wished.

David and Goliath where David is armed with social media

From 6/5/08 - Using Coca-Cola's Distribution MuscleThis post was the start of the ColaLife campaign. This took a 20-year-old idea which had never achieved traction and applied the power of social networks to turn the head, engage and influence the behaviour of a global brand. The story got too big for this blog and now has its own blog here: colalife.org/blog. We can distribute Coca-Cola to all corners of the World and yet 1 in 5 children die before the age of 5 in developing countries, that's 4 a minute in Africa alone, 5,500 a day. They die from very simple causes like dehydration from diarrhoea. ColaLife wants to get Oral Rehydration Salts, and other social products, out to all the places you can buy a coke by putting them in Coke crates.The progress made to the end 0f 2008 was nicely summarised in a BBC Interview broadcast on 27/12/08.

Soapbox post of the year

21/2/08 - Why I believe in Open InnovationThe
motivation for this post came from a social event where I introduced my
father to someone with power over me. This someone responded by saying
I was mad in my belief in open innovation. Embarrassing but also
inspiring!

Coolest use of a flip video

16/12/08 Why are you here? ColaLife face-to-faceThis post appeared on the ColaLife blog for the benefit of all those who couldn't make the first ColaLife face-to-face meeting in London, UK. It was posted on the same night as the event itself. I gave my son a flip video and asked him to go around and ask people why they were there. This post includes nine mini videos hosted on YouTube . . . . click all the play buttons at once to get an idea of the atmosphere!

2/1/08 - Turning the telescope the other way aroundBefore Web 2.0, online portals and 'one-stop-shops' seemed like a good idea. Now they look like you've got all your eggs in one basket. Now you can (and should) have your content everywhere eg your images on Flickr, your video on YouTube and Vimeo as so on. Then your website becomes an aggregator of all your stuff not the only place people can find you. So your website becomes the end point, not the starting point, of your web presence. This means that many more people will find you through the different content channels you are using and it also means you can re-use and re-mix your content in different places for different audiences. A hat tip goes to my friend Julian of Georgia Wonder for opening my eyes to this.

November 08, 2008

This is the photo on my new Defra ID card. Ah well. I'm stuck with it now!

Defra ID card? What's all that about? Well, on Friday, 24/10/08 I gave up the post of Chief Executive of ruralnet|uk to take up a secondment at Defra. I will be working on two things: the implementation of Defra's Third Sector Strategy launched this Monday (3/11/08); and the new Greener Living Fund. The secondment is part-time until Christmas and becomes full time from the New Year. It will be a one-way arrangement. When the secondment finishes I will not return to ruralnet|uk.

This is a real bitter-sweet affair for me. On the one hand I am really looking forward to the Defra secondment which is right up my street: liaison with the Third Sector where I have lots of friends,plus the chance to change people's behaviour in ways that have a positive impact on the environment. Work that will make me feel good.

On the other hand, I did set-up ruralnet|uk and I have really enjoyed working with all the people that make up ruralnet, so moving away is a terrible wrench. However, although the funding environment is really tough, ruralnet|uk is in good shape to cope. It has a great team of people with leading edge skills and ideas and Web 2.0 based services to back this up. I have invested too much to drop my support and enthusiasm for what ruralnet|uk is and what it does. So, I want to be available to continue to offer encouragement and ideas, but on request only and in a non-interfering sort of way!

Thanks are due a whole load of people - too numerous to mention - but let me mention one or two who have allowed me to make this move. My wife and colleague, Jane, who has not been well this year, but has continued to support me in whatever I end up doing; the Trustees of ruralnet|uk who could have made me feel very uncomfortable at my decision to move but have been incredibly supportive; Simon Bland, the founding chairman of ruralnet|uk who has taken on the role of interim CEO while the recruitment of a new CEO gets underway; my colleagues at ruralnet|uk - it's been an honour to work with you (and I've enjoyed it too!).

An official press release will go out from ruralnet|uk on Monday through xPRESS Digest.

October 22, 2008

Sorry, I know the Coca-Cola campaign (ColaLife) has supposed to have moved on but I just have to show you this. If you have a YouTube account, when the video ends please go to YouTube and 'favourite it' and give in 5 stars. And, if you have time please leave a comment too. Thanks.

Oh, and if you haven't already joined the ColaLife Facebook Group please do so (and invite your friends). we must keep the pressure on!

August 01, 2008

Here's the latest from Adrian who is carrying out research into Coca-Cola's distribution networks in Ethiopia and Tanzania. Previous stories are here.

OK, I confess, after just a week or so in 'Dar', I'm looking
forward to being taken out on a visit to the 'Viagra Inn'. Now, don't go
jumping to conclusions. The Viagra Inn is actually a small retail outlet
serviced by one of our Coca-Cola distributors, and I'm not expecting see any
little blue pills on the shelves. And yes, of course, I asked about the name.
It's part of my job to identify great examples of local enterprise and get a
feel for what works. I think what I'm seeing here is a very canny understanding
of the marketing 'hook', and yet another example of the great sense of humour
and creativity you see in Tanzania. Many of our distributors are real wits,
they're full of ideas and find lots to laugh about, despite the apparent
difficulty of their lives. People here are consistently friendly and welcoming
where-ever we go.

So, of course, I'm keen to analyse this powerful marketing
message they've chosen, to raise their sales, fix their modest business in
everyone's mind (well, it certainly worked for me!) But, no, I'm told (was that
a little coyly?): it's actually the
combination of the two owner's names. I'm not sure if I'm being taken for
another ride here, but it certainly attracts attention and for me is yet
another reminder that not everything I see is exactly what it seems at first!

July 20, 2008

Meanwhile, here's the latest note from Adrian Bristow, who's now working with
Coca-Cola in Tanzania, where he's collecting local opinions and ideas.
On the way, he's been in the USA, talking to experienced development
agencies to learn about what they're doing. The local research in
Africa will lay the groundwork to take forward some ideas on using
Coca-Cola's local distribution networks. Our group's proposal to
distribute rehydration salts and related educational materials will be
part of the mix that local Coca-Cola distributors will look at.

"It's been pretty hectic since I left Ethiopia: I have had some
interesting travels and met a lot of really helpful people. In
particular, I spent some time in New York speaking to people in the
development community, where I found an incredible passion for work in
Africa. There are a lot of really good initiatives on the go, although
the one thing that struck me was how we could potentially be working
more closely together for an even bigger impact.
"On the way back out into the field I grabbed a bit of time at home in
South Africa. Then this week it's off to Tanzania. Here I'll complete
the initial data gathering from more local Coca-cola distributors - the
Manual Distribution Centre owners. We are really trying to get a good
understanding of their key needs as well as their views on how they
could be part of the solution as a partner of Coca-Cola to address what
they view as key community needs.
"I'm looking forward to Dar-es-Salaam: a great place to visit, a hive
of activity and being on the coast adds a special relaxed feel to the
place. That's where I'll be when I send you the next update and
hopefully - if I can just make some time to sit down at the computer -
a bit more detail and some pictures!"

July 14, 2008

This message comes to us from Adrian in Addis Ababa, where he
recently spent a day meeting some of the independent local distributors
working on the Manual Distribution Centre (MDC) model that Coca-Cola has promoted. Although their main focus for analysis is Tanzania,
they were guided to gather some comparative data from Ethiopia where
the distribution model seems to be working best. Hence Adrian's trip.

"Mubarek is an MDC owner and his team in Addis Ababa were all
previously unemployed. I met them at their distribution centre and
heard all about their successes, the issues they face and their opinion
on how we could improve their lives and the lives of the communities
they serve. It may come as some surprise that Ethiopia is where this
distribution model was conceptualised: really exciting, as it breaks
some stereotypes about where models usually get developed. Ethiopia is
one of the toughest markets to operate in, but our Ethiopian Coke
Bottler colleagues have shown that it's possible to rise above the
challenges!

"You get to meet so many interesting people when you are out in these
countries. The harsh realities of what faces people living in areas
decimated by poverty hits you hard. However, I also get so inspired by
the resilience of the people and the lengths that they will go to to
try and better their lives and the lives of their families. I am also
really motivated by the positive intent of most employees at corporates
to play a constructive role. They often just don't have the necessary
channel to do this and their lives are so busy that they don't have the
time to create this themselves. That's why projects like this are
really important.

"We know that this system is creating many new entrepreneurs and many
new jobs, but we also feel that there is a lot of untapped potential in
this means of distribution. One of the aspects which I know has created
the interest in Simon's Facebook group is around how the distribution
system could be used for 'greater good'. I am discovering that it's a
bit more complicated than I initially anticipated as we are dealing
with independently-owned businesses. Local needs and conditions vary
quite a lot. However, the 'in-principle' commitment and level of
support is fantastic both from the Coca-Cola bottler side and the
entrepreneurs. It will take a bit of time to find a workable model
but we are exploring far and wide, and I'll bring you more news as
possibilities unfold."

July 13, 2008

Here is today's interview on the BBC World Service. I was expecting something much more linked up. During the week we'd talked about linking it to the WaterAid publication (Tackling the silent killer) that came out last week to coincide with the G8 Summit. In the end it was a standalone slot just 4 minutes long.
Thanks to The World Today weekend team for setting this opportunity up.

July 11, 2008

On Sunday (13/7/08) at 5am (BST) I'll be on my bike on my way to BBC Bush House for the Weekend edition of The World Today on the BBC World Service. I'll be discussing the Coca-Cola Campaign with a panel of people which includes a Professor of Econmic Development from Kenya who will be in the Nairobi studio.